Monetary and non-monetary
benefits brought about by
study abroad for a degree
a comparative study between study for a degree in Japanand abroad
AAS-in-Asia Conference: Association for Asian Studies
Korea University, Seoul
June 25, 2017

Yukiko Shimmi, Ph.D., Hitotsubashi University
Hiroshi Ota Ph.D., Hitotsubashi UniversityP.I. : Masahiro Yokota, Ph.D., Meiji University

Survey of Global Personnel Developmentand Long-term Impact of Study Abroad
Background of the Study• There is a demand for personnel with the potential to play anactive role in global society.
• The question of how to ensure that the quality assurance ofeducation and the enhancement of learning lead to theconcrete outcome of global personnel development is anurgent task for the higher education sector.

Aims of the Study• It aimed at examining the impact of study abroad experienceson students' subsequent career development and lives.
• It also aimed at providing valuable implications for universities
and companies working to address the urgent issue ofdeveloping personnel with global competencies.

Theoretical Framework•

Human Capital Theory (Schultz, 1963; Becker, 1964)•

Human capital is productive wealth embodied in labour,skills and knowledge. (OECD, 2001)•Mobility Capital (Murphy-Lejeune, 2002)•In this study, human capital theory is used as a framework tounderstand the monetary and non-monetary benefits ofstudying abroad at the undergraduate and graduate levels,
compared with studying only in Japan.

•Cf. Signaling Model (Arrow, 1973; Spence 1973)

Retrospective Online Survey
Survey period and respondents
People with study aboard experience
Period: January-May, 2015
Number of respondents: 4,489
People without study abroad experience
Period: August-September, 2015Number of respondents: 1,298
Selection Criteria
People with study abroad experience• At the least, lived primarily in Japan during elementary and junior high school;studied abroad for three months or more after graduation from a Japanese
senior high school.
• The aim of study abroad was to learn a language, obtain a degree, or earn credits
People without study abroad experience• No experiences of studying or living abroad for longer than 3 months, did not live
overseas as a child• Had not acquired foreign language proficiency, did not use a foreign language athome, had not studied at an international school in Japan prior to entering aJapanese university• Graduated from a Japanese university• Working for a company located in Japan, housewife or unemployedSurvey Questions
Benefits

Online survey question items
 Amount of an annual income

Monetary benefits (3 items)

Nonmonetary
benefits(11 items)

Careerrelatedbenefits(7 items)

Non-careerrelated
aspects(4 items)

 Study experience was helpful in obtaining a higher income Satisfaction with a current annual income
 Study experience was helpful in planning a career Study experience was helpful in gaining a current job
 Study experience (degree) was valued by recruiters (employers) Gained foreign language competencies (skills) were valued byrecruiters (employers) Gained specialized knowledge and skills were valued by recruiters(employers) Experience of communicating with foreigners (cross-culturalcommunication experience) was valued by recruiters (employers) Satisfaction with a current job
 Satisfaction with study experience Satisfaction with life outside work (private life) Satisfaction with friendships
 Satisfaction with life

Research Questionsand Data

ObjectiveThis paper reports on a study of the monetaryand non-monetary benefits of studying for anundergraduate or graduate degree abroad bycomparing those who had studied on suchprograms with graduates of comparable
programs at universities in Japan.
Comparative study on 4 groups: (1) UG abroad, (2)MA/PhD abroad, (3) UG in Japan, (4) MA/PhD in Japan

Respondent Groups
People withstudy abroad
experience(SA Group)*
People without
study abroad
experience(Non-SAGroup)**Academic level andtype

Period of study abroad

Number ofresponsesUndergraduate
degree abroad

Longer than 3 years

416

Masters/Doctorate
degree abroad

Longer than 1 year

353

Undergraduate
degree in Japan-710

Masters/Doctorate
degree in Japan-528*: Classified by the type of institution which they responded was their most important study abroad destination**: Classified by the highest level of institution they attended

Respondent Groups: Genderand Age
GenderSA Group

Non-SAGroup

AgeMaleFemale20’s oryounger

30’s

40’s

50’s orolder

Undergraduate
degree abroad

52.4%

47.6%

9.6%

34.9%

42.1%

13.5%

Masters/Doctoratedegree abroad

58.9%

41.1%

6.2%

28.3%

37.7%

27.8%

Undergraduate
degree in Japan

47.0%

53.0%

13.4%

32.0%

34.4%

20.3%

Masters/Doctorate
degree in Japan

54.5%

45.5%

15.7%

37.3%

34.5%

12.5%

SA Group Profiles: Field of Study(Masters/Doctoral degree abroad)
Academic Fields
Humanities andSocial Sciences

STEM

SA Group

15.6%

84.4%

Non-SA Group

39.4%

60.6%

SA Group Profiles:
Study Abroad Destination
UnitedStatesUnitedKingdom

Australia

CanadaGermany

FranceChina

Undergraduate
degree abroad

78.1.%

6.0%

2.2%

4.1%

1.9%

0.5%

2.9%

Masters/Doctorate
degree abroad

57.2%

21.5%

4.5%

2.5%

2.8%

2.3%

0.8%

SA Group Profiles:
Period of Studying Abroad
Undergraduate
degree abroad

Masters/Doctorate
degree abroad

3-4 years

4-5 years

5 years or longer

41.1%

36.3%

22.6%

1-2 years

2-3 years

3 years or longer

36.0%

32.0%

32.0%

Methods of Analysis
Comparison of 4 groups: (1) UG abroad, (2) MA/PhD abroad, (3) UG
in Japan, (4) MA/PhD in Japan•Average annual income: 8 categories
1. 0-2 million yen
2. 2-4 million yen
3. 4-6 million yen
4. 6-8 million yen
5. 8-10 million yen
6. 10-15 million yen
7. 15-20 million yen
8. 20 million yen or more•

Monetary and non-monetary benefits: 4-point Likert scale
4 = strongly agree
3 = tend to agree
2 = relatively disagree
1= strongly disagree•

Comparing weighted averages, calculating income gap coefficients, andconducting one-way ANOVA of the four groups.

Results

Monetary Benefits of SA Experience:
Average Annual Income of 4 Groups
50.0%
SA Group:
Undergraduate degree
abroad40.0%SA Group:
Masters/Doctorate
degree abroad

30.0%

Non-SA Group:
Undergraduate degreein Japan20.0%

Non-SA Group:
Masters/Doctorate inJapan

10.0%

0.0%

0-2
millionyen

2-4
millionyen

4-6
millionyen

6-8
millionyen

8-10
millionyen

10-15
millionyen

15-20
millionyen

20 million
yen ormore*The answers of “housewives or unemployed” are not included in the study abroad groups. The answers of thosewho “do not want to answer” are not included in the non-study abroad groups.

Average Annual Income andIncome Gap by Gender
UG
degreeabroad(1)

UG
degree inJapan (2)Masters/
Doctorate
degreeabroad (3)Masters/
Doctorate
degree inJapan (4)Income gap
coefficients: UG degree(1) / (2)Income gap
coefficients: Masters/
Doctorate
degree(3) / (4)

Total

5.47M
yen

4.49M
yen

7.92M
yen

5.53M
yen

1.22

1.43

1.45

Male

6.45M
yen

5.75M
yen

9.54M
yen

6.69M
yen

1.12

1.43

1.48

Female

4.39M
yen

3.37M
yen

5.62M
yen

4.10M
yen

1.33

1.37

1.28

*PPP for GDP: US$1 = JPY106 (OECD 2015)
1 million yen = US$9,433

Incomegap
coefficients: Academiclevel(3) / (1)Average Annual Income by Age
Income gap
coefficients: UG degree(1) / (2)Income gap
coefficients:
Masters/
Doctorate
degree(3) / (4)Income gap
coefficients:
Academiclevel(3) / (1)UG
degreeabroad(1)

UG
degreein Japan(2)

Masters/
Doctorate
degreeabroad
(3)

Total

5.47M
yen

4.49M
yen

7.92M
yen

5.53M
yen

1.22

1.43

1.45

50’s or
older

6.53M
yen

6.08M
yen

9.93M
yen

8.06M
yen

1.07

1.23

1.52

40’s

5.64M
yen

4.70M
yen

8.25M
yen

6.54M
yen

1.20

1.26

1.46

30’s

5.39M
yen

3.89M
yen

6.42M
yen

4.67M
yen

1.39

1.38

1.1920’s

3.50M
yen

2.90M
yen

3.72M
yen

3.50M
yen

1.20

1.06

1.07

Masters/D
octorate
degree inJapan (4)*PPP for GDP: US$1 = JPY106 (OECD 2015)
1 million yen = US$9,433

Percentages of Those Who Are Working for a
Foreign Company and in Management Roles
Working for a foreigncompany

Management roles

Undergraduate
degree abroad

24.6%

32.5%

Undergraduate
degree in Japan

2.1%

17.2%

Masters/Doctorate
degree abroad

22.4%

41.1%

Masters/Doctorate
degree in Japan

2.1%

18.6%

The percentage in management roles is the total proportion of those in the “executive/board member class”
and in the “managerial class”

Current Job
OfficeWorkerSales

Engineer

Researcher

Professional

OthersUndergraduate
degree abroad

35.5%

14.5%

8.1%

2.5%

24.6%

14.7%

Undergraduate
degree in Japan

47.0%

18.2%

18.4%

1.9%

10.6%

3.9%

Masters/Doctorate
degree abroad

19.0%

11.2%

5.7%

25.3%

28.4%

10.3%

Masters/Doctorate
degree in Japan

28.1%

6.3%

35.0%

14.8%

14.4%

1.3%

Average Income by Academic Field:
Graduate Level

STEM
abroad (1)STEM inJapan (2)Humanities& Social
Sciencesabroad (3)

7.22M
yen

5.77M
yen

8.05M
yen

Humanities& Social
Sciences inJapan
(4)

5.14M
yen

Income gap
coefficient:
STEM(1) / (2)

*PPP for GDP: US$1 = JPY106 (OECD 2015)
1 million yen = US$9,433

1.25

Income gap
coefficient:
Humanities &Social
Sciences(3) / (4)

1.57

Self-evaluation of Monetary benefits:
Results of One-way ANOVA

Studyexperience
was helpful inobtaining ahigherincomeSatisfaction
with a current
annualincomeUG degreeabroad (1)Masters/
Doctoraldegreeabroad (2)UG degree inJapan (3)Masters/
Doctoraldegree inJapan (4)MSDMSDMSD

M

SD

2.48

1.01

2.76

1.03

2.00

0.80

2.27

0.90

2.08

0.89

2.44

0.91

2.03

0.78

2.17

0.88

F value

60.98***

19.42***

Multiplecomparison

2>1>4>3

2>1
2>3
2>4
4>31) F value: ***p <.001, **p <.01, *p <.05
2) Between groups: df = 3, Within groups: df= 2.003
3) The type of Post Hoc Test was Games-Howell (p <.05). The differences are shown by the inequality sign.
4) Multiplicity issues in the analysis were not considered.

Non-monetary benefits of study abroad experiences:

Results of One-way ANOVAUG degreeabroad (1)MSD

Masters/
doctoraldegreeabroad (2)MSD

Study abroad experience was helpful inplanning a career

3.24

0.85

3.47

0.72

2.23

0.82

2.66

0.90

230.74***

2>1>4>3

Study abroad experience was helpful ingaining a current job

3.06

0.99

3.38

0.86

2.28

0.90

2.74

0.99

127.68***2>1>4>3

Study abroad experience (degree) wasvalued by recruiters (employers)

2.91

0.96

3.14

0.89

2.32

0.83

2.48

0.92

86.29***

2>1>4>3

Foreign language skills acquired throughstudy abroad were valued by recruiters(employers)
Specialized knowledge and skills acquired
through study abroad were valued byrecruiters (employers)
Experience of communicating withforeigners gained through study abroad wasvalued by recruiters (employers)
Satisfaction with a current job

2.95

0.97

3.08

0.88

1.54

0.61

1.63

0.70

554.29***2, 1 > 4, 3

2.79

0.97

3.11

0.86

2.15

0.80

2.51

0.94

104.91***2>1>4>3

2.84

0.98

3.00

0.89

1.52

0.61

1.59

0.65

510.12***2, 1 > 4, 3

2.56

0.95

2.84

0.85

2.41

0.81

2.48

0.82

21.18***

2>1
2>3
2>4
1>3

Satisfaction with study abroad experience

3.17

0.82

3.23

0.77

2.57

0.80

2.83

0.80

76.66***

2, 1 > 4 > 3

Satisfaction with life outside work (privatelife)

2.85

0.81

2.97

0.80

2.63

0.76

2.74

0.82

15.72***

2>3
2>4
1>3

Satisfaction with friendships

2.87

0.79

3.00

0.75

2.56

0.71

2.66

0.78

33.56***

2, 1 > 4, 3Satisfaction with life

2.78

0.81

2.98

0.81

2.50

0.76

2.57

0.78

34.68***

2 > 1 > 4, 3

UG degree
in Japan (3)SDMasters/
doctoraldegree inJapan (4)MSD

M

F value

Multople
Comparison

1) F value: ***p <.001, **p <.01, *p <.05
2) 2) Between groups: df = 3, Within groups: df= 2.003
3) The type of Post Hoc Test was Games-Howell (p <.05). The differences are shown by the inequality sign.
4) Multiplicity issues in the analysis were not considered.

Summary andDiscussion

Findings: Impact of study abroadon the increase of human capital•

The average annual income of respondents who studied for a
graduate degree abroad was higher than that of those who graduatedfrom graduate schools in Japan.

•

The average income of respondents who studied abroad for anundergraduate degree was also higher than that of those who
obtained a bachelor’s degree in Japan.

•The self-perceptions of income-related aspects were significantly morepositive among respondents who studied abroad for a graduate
degree than among any other group.

=> Human capital gained through study abroad experiences seems
to be helpful in increasing monetary benefits.

Monetary Benefits: An issue for those whostudying abroad for undergraduate degree
Satisfaction with the current income was the same for two undergraduategroups, although the average income was high for those who studiedabroad.
=> Those who studied abroad for undergraduate degree might be more ambitious of
their income=> Those who studied abroad for an undergraduate degree might feel dissatisfied at
the Japanese traditional business custom of promotion such as the seniority-based
wage system, which does not necessarily take one’s ability and skills account for
deciding the salary,=> The cost of study abroad for undergraduate degree (1.6 - 4.4 times higher than thatof studying in Japan) might have also affected the results.
=> This is a similar result with the previous studies in the West (Janson, Schomburg &Teichler, 2009; Schmidt & Pardo, 2012), indicating that study abroad experience is notnecessarily helpful for enhancing monetary benefits.

Impact of Study Abroad: Comparison ofthe Undergraduate and Graduate Levels•

Monetary and non-monetary benefits are both greater for people
with study abroad experience at the graduate level than those whostudied at the undergraduate level=> Gaining knowledge and skills in professional fields throughgraduate study might be helpful in finding a professional job that
requires those knowledge and skills, which consequently mightenhance their annual income (monetary benefits).
=> In the case of undergraduates, an acquisition of transversal
human capital, such as foreign language skills and communication
skills, seems to be evaluated highly by the employers.

Non-monetary Benefits
The self-perceptions of non-monetary benefits were significantly
more favorable among respondents in the study abroad groups, atboth undergraduate and graduate levels, than among those in thenon-study abroad groups.
•Non-monetary career-related benefits: study abroad experience was
helpful for career planning and job-hunting•.Non-monetary, non-career-related benefits: satisfaction with life
outside of work (private life), friendships, and life in generalModel of Benefit of Study Abroad for Undergraduate
and Graduate Degrees and Study in Japan

Comparison of Benefits of Studying Abroadby the Academic Level and Other Profiles
1. Graduate Level• Seem to be more beneficial in both monetary and non-monetary aspects thanundergraduate level
2. High monetary benefits• High income: 40’s or more, graduate level, social sciences and humanities (includingMBA)
3. High non-monetary benefits• Graduate level: professional and other general skills are highly evaluated byemployers; high self-evaluated satisfaction with their study abroad experiences andlives in general including private lives•

Undergraduate Level (basically same as the graduate level): Foreign language skills
and communication experiences with foreign people are highly evaluated byemployers; high self-evaluated satisfaction with their own study abroad experiences
and their friendshipThank you for your attention.
Hiroshi Ota, Ph.D.
Professor
Center for Global Education
Hitotsubashi University

E-mail: h.ota@r.hit-u.ac.jp

http://international.hit-u.ac.jp/jp/courses/hgp/index.html
36References
Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, withspecial reference to education. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
OECD (2001). Glossary of statistical terms: Human capital. Retrieved fromhttps://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=1264
Schultz, T. W. (1970). Investment in human capital: the role of education andof research. Free Press.